PJO: War
by codyericlee
Summary: Percy Jackson's life is about to get a spin on it...again. War is inevitable after tensions between camps are spread, gods are angered, and blood is spilled. But who is the enemy? The gods, the camp...or everybody?
1. Chapter 1: Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character or plot of PJO. Mr. Riordian does.**

* * *

Percy's last thought was that he couldn't let Annabeth get hurt by those demon ladies.

Well, he have had a _lot_ of encounters with "demon ladies;" Furies, Fates, even 'curses' in Tartarus. Demon ladies were all the same. Old, cackling, and _creepy._ These demons were no different, except they looked almost like old demigods. Really old demigods, that used Imperial Gold and Celestial Bronze.

They really got the spring on him and Annabeth while they were chilling at the state park, courtesy of Grover. The ladies had sprung out of the bushes while Annabeth and I were having a picnic and talking about New Rome and Leo. After bashing me in the head a few hundred times, they had took Annabeth away.

And now Percy lay, weak and helpless as they walked away with Annabeth's unconscious form slung over their shoulder like a bag. A body bag, more like.

He reached out my senses and searched desperately for a source of water that he could gain strength from, but found none.

 _Like, what in Hade's? he thought._ A nature state park, with no water to spare?

"Nooooooo!" Percy wailed in his head. His fatal flaw was loyalty, and it broke him inside to see his friend, his girlfriend, taken away from him.

 _No, no, NO!_

"Percy? Percy, are you alright?"

Percy's eyes flew open and immediately was blinded by the bright light. "Wha?"

Annabeth was leaning over him, her eyes wide with worry. "Are you alright, Percy? You literally just yelled so loud I could hear you from my—"

 _FWOOOOOSH!_

Uh oh. The toilets just exploded. Again.

" _You stupid Seaweed Brain!"_ yelled Annabeth. One moment she was all love-y dove-y and caring, the next she was ticked off. Just great.

While she was ranting on and on, he thought about my dream. Demigod dreams were never just there. They had meaning. So what could demon ladies abducting Annabeth and me having no water to spare in a nature park mean?

Hmm...


	2. Chapter 2: Act of War

Percy Jackson sat on the dock, legs dangling in the water. But that was no fun; he couldn't get wet.

He sat there, thinking about the future. The future was a delicate thing for demigods at Camp Half Blood—up until very recently. Demigods, before the introduction of "New Rome," never lived that long. Most expected to die with monster fangs in their necks or even gruesomer methods.

But now, there was New Rome in the equation. He secretly hoped he and Annabeth could settle down there. Get a nice college degree, settle down, have kids. Die at a ripe old age.

Percy could tell Annabeth didn't want to leave Camp Half Blood. It was almost like her connection to Luke. She didn't want to leave, and Percy knew he couldn't force her to. Speaking of Annabeth…

"Hey, Seaweed Brain. How are you doing?"

Annabeth sat down next to Percy. Percy saw the Yankee cap in her hand. _Ow, come on! Spying on me again?_

Annabeth laid a hand on Percy's. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and we stared as the sun set over the water. Percy loved relaxing moments with Annabeth like this one. They always made him feel like the luckiest demigod in the world.

A low squeak interrupted Percy's thoughts.

Percy looked back and saw Grover, shifting uncomfortably as the couple shared their love for each other. "Umm… sorry to interrupt or anything…umm…" Grover bleated, embarrassed.

"No, go ahead," said Annabeth, removing her hand from Percy's.

"Well, uh… Landon was found dead."

Dead. Landon? Both Percy and Annabeth were taken aback. "What happened? Monster?"

Landon Beltsfrom was a diplomat/ambassador from New Rome. _Oh god…New Rome. What is Reyna going to think about our alliance?_ wondered Percy.

"Actually, not monster. Sword gash. Looks like a new type of metal," Grover explained. He was chewing on his shirt, and working his way up.

"Are you sure that it wasn't a monster claw of some sort?" Annabeth asked. Sword marks and metal would make Camp Half Blood look real bad.

"Positive." Grover was up to the collar now.

Percy sat up and said, "Grover, lead me to him. I want to see it for myself."

Grover lead the two into the forests where capture the flag games happened. Percy remembered the time he and Thalia had a fight over the flag at the creek. He pushed that thought out of his mind and continued. Finally, they arrived at Zeus' Fist, the formation of boulders that resembled a giant fist.

And lain on it, body soaked with blood, was Landon.

A disgusting sword wound, still vaguely steaming, spread down his chest. Someone had closed his eyes, but his face was contorted with agony and pain. Percy looked away.

" _Yo, boss."_ Blackjack flew from the sky and landed on a patch of grass. _"Gotta tell ya, that guy over there doesn't look too good."_

Percy glared at Blackjack. " _Aww, right. I forgot not to call you boss. And not to make fun of dead demigods. Oh, speaking of which, I am dying for a sugar cube."_

Percy continued to glare.

While Blackjack flew away, Percy walked over to Landon. Landon was a son of the Roman Apollo, and he had made best friends with Will Solace. Apparently Will still wasn't caught up on what happened, or just didn't want to see it. Landon's body, however, looked like it had been moved. It didn't look natural that a human would fall like that. Percy gently rolled Landon over…

…and gasped. There was a note, soaked with blood.

It read something so simple to write, yet so complicated to perform.

This is the first blood of war.


	3. Chapter 3: Contact

_Camp Jupiter, New Rome_

"So what you are telling me, is that one of my best ambassadors stay over at their camp, for, oh, I don't know, three days, and he suddenly gets killed with demigod metal? And they want me to believe that _they gracious_ scum had nothing to do with it?!"

Reyna was outraged. At Percy, for reporting it to her. At Jason, who actually supported Percy. And at Landon, for dying on her.

Secretly, Landon had asked her out a few weeks ago. Though it was against New Rome laws, she couldn't help but be charmed by his smile and his obedience. And his bravery made him perfect for her; finally, someone to lean on, and not someone who _leaned_ on.

Then, suddenly, Landon talks Reyna to let him be the ambassador at Camp Half Blood. After three days, _just three days,_ Landon is killed. By a demigod sword. On _Greek_ property. Reyna felt like she had been gutted. It was all her fault. She had sent Landon. _Oh no, why were you so foolish, Reyna?_

And now they expect her to believe that all demigods at Camp Half Blood were innocent and would never do such thing.

What did they think she was, an idiot? _Well, think what you want. Because an idiot is about to kick your butt._

Reyna summoned Dakota, and waited impatiently for him to come.

"Greetings, Praetor." Dakota announced. His eye twitched. Then he seemed to notice Reyna was upset. Quickly, he addeds, "I'm sorry about Lan—"

"Shut up!" Reyna shouted.

Dakota closed his mouth and cringed. Or he just twitched because of his sugar ingestion.

Reyna took a deep breath and returned to her high, elegant and calm state. "I want you to send out a force to Camp Half Blood now."

"Er, a diplomatic one?"

"No. Arm them to the teeth. Tell them to kill everyone there except that Percy Jackson and Jason. "

Dakota looked uncomfortable, but bowed and left.

Reyna sighed and plopped down onto her couch. Finally, some relaxation. And the heavy weight lifted off her chest, knowing Landon will be avenged. _We will see who has more nerve, Perseus Jackson._

* * *

 _Camp Half Blood, Long Island Beach_

Percy Jackson, meanwhile, was in the war counsel room. Representatives from every cabin filled the room, and for the time being, Clarisse was chasing Connor Stroll around because he "had defied the force of Ares!" or whatever that meant.

Chiron pounded his hooves on the table, and everybody fell silent. Clarisse shot Conner one last glare before sitting down, and throwing her knife a few inches away from Conner impaled into the ping-pong table.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Now, heroes, we mustn't be upset. What happened was a simple misunderstanding and a senseless murder. Remember—"

"Yeah, with loss comes new strength, blah blah," interrupted Clarisse. "I say we strike the 'unknown murderer' before he—or she—kills off one of our own!"

Percy flipped the note onto the ping-pong table. "What about this, then? We are unofficially in a war. And we still haven't recovered from the Giants. Not even the Titans. And within such close proximity, it's a danger to camp. Both camps."

"It's possible that this could be a strike force, loyal to Octavian. They probably want revenge or something," said Annabeth.

"I dunno about you guys, but I think that this is more of a Camp Jupiter thing, and we should stay out of another _freaking_ war," Connor said, always the _favor-our-side-we-have-cookies_ type of guy.

"Maybe we should just wait it out," said Annabeth. "Let the killer think that we are scared, and let him/her be careless in the next attack."

"But isn't that like using someone as bait?" Nico had entered the room. Everyone jumped. Nico had just…jumped from the shadows.

"Umm… actually, no, because we are not putting anyone in danger." Annabeth explained, a little annoyed at being corrected. "Consider it more of a trap."

Percy watched as the campers talked. He suddenly yawned. For some reason, he felt light-headed and sleepy. He struggled to stay awake. _Uhh, guys? A—hmm…- little help (yawn) here?_

But no one noticed until Percy fell forward and hit his forehead with a sickening smack on the table.

"Percy!" Annabeth was at his side immediately. "Are you alright? Percy? Can you hear me? Please, wake up. Wake up. Wake UP!"

Will was absent from the meeting, still grieving over Landon, so the emergency head counselor, Blake Pitts, had to heal Percy.

"What's wrong with him?" Annabeth cried.

"It appears that someone has poisoned him," Blake explained, looking at Percy's blood sample. "Some sort of drug…"

"The real question is," said Clarisse, not looking very bothered, "who did it and why?

* * *

 _Camp Jupiter, New Rome_

Reyna threw another dart. It pierced Percy Jackson's picture on the forehead. Two were already sticking out of his eyes. One was where a boy's soft spot was, and three were plugged into his heart.

Reyna sighed, and rose from her bed. Walking in the gardens was a favorite for Reyna, even if it was night.

She walked the gardens, occasionally stopping to admire some flowers or the shape some hedges made. She loved New Rome, and she could tell the Greeks did too. _No, why did you think of the Greeks again?_

Reyna sighed again, and wandered some more. She wished that Landon hadn't died. He would often take her on picnics in the gardens in a semi-secret clearing of a patch of birch. She had reflexively walked right into the clearing.

Reyna sat down cross-legged on the ground and closed her eyes, hoping to find some form of relaxation.

"Oh, um, hi."

The voice startled her. Reyna backflipped to her feet, knife in hand and looked at the human the sound belonged to. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry to startle you."

Reyna cocked her head and wondered how to react. This was the person who supported the _Greeks_ on the Landon case. Should she be ticked off, or all nice to her former crush? She decided to play it cool.

"Oh, hi, Jason! Haven't talked in a while, have we?"

"Look, Reyna, I'm sorry that we don't see eye to eye. But I still believe—"

"Oh, _please_ , you were always Greeks this and Greeks that. Have you looked at it from my view?" Reyna practically screamed.

Jason was surprised, and took a step back. "Look, Praetor, all I'm saying is—"

"Go away." Reyna's voice was quiet but sinister. "Go away, go away, go away, GO AWAY! JUST GO AWAY!"

Reyna lunged at him out of pure animal instinct, eyes filled with bloodlust and anger. Jason turned and ran.

Reyna stopped to catch her breath and calm herself down. _No use losing control,_ she thought. All she needed was to calm down and—

A force slammed into her, knocking her breath out of her. The unknown attacker was now on top of her, and they had their legs crisscrossed around Reyna's neck, preventing her from getting oxygen. Reyna struggled and tried to kick the attacker in the back, but the attacker dodged it easily.

Reyna was now beginning to see everything in a red tint. Darkness was creeping in on her vision. Reyna fought to stay awake. She couldn't go out now!

Reyna decided that if she was going down, she would bring her attacker with her. Grabbing the attacker's neck with her free hands, Reyna began to squeeze as well.

The last thing Reyna remembered was the satisfaction as she felt her attacker go limp, and then the world went black.


End file.
